Symbolism and Top Hats
by Random Mongoose
Summary: A few simple ponderings that our fiesty firecracker dreams up in class... Kyoko X Charden


**Authoress' Note:**** Hello everyone! I have only recently become interested in the series (well, manga for me) Black Cat, but I already found a pairing that I absolutely adore. For the readers who follow the manga, I would like to say that I only have read volumes 1-5, so any stories that I write will only be current to that point, unless I mention otherwise. Well, here goes my first Black Cat fic. I hope you like it!**

**Disclaimer****: I don't own Black Cat or its characters…but that's alright by me.**

The bell that signaled the start of class rang just as Kyoko Kirisaki dashed through door, her hair side-swept and her bag dangling haphazardly off of one shoulder.

"_This school is just too damn long!" _she thought, still panting from her run down the hall. She thought that it was absolutely ridiculous to have one class downstairs at one end of the school, and the next class upstairs at the other.

The seventeen year-old huffed indignantly and weaved her way through the desks of chatting girls to her own seat by the window, in which she plopped into with an exaggerated sigh.

"_Why on earth do I deal with hectic days like these?" _

Things were getting just a little chaotic in Kyoko's life. The Apostles of the Stars were taking action more and more frequently, and her services were needed more often than not. This meant that she was being called out of school in order to assume her responsibilities as a member, which in turn meant that schoolwork was piling up, and her grades were slipping. There was also the issue of the school board calling her house for reasons for her unexcused absences, along with occasional calls from her traveling parents. Kyoko was hardly ever home nowadays, even at night, instead opting to take quick naps whenever possible during her missions to wherever and whenever. Sooner or later, either her parents or the school board will become suspicious and start investigating her absences…and she couldn't have that. No one must know her link to the Apostles of the Stars. And so, Kyoko was stuck.

And to make matters worse, the young schoolgirl had lost her cell phone. It was in her bag last night, nestled between her hand-held videogame and a few chocolate bars, but when she searched through it this morning, it was gone.

Kyoko was pissed. She had recently gotten into a fight with Shiki over the fact that she was a teenager who needed personal time and space to "do her own thing". She argued that she desperately needed a little time to be somewhat "normal", and to go shopping or something to balance out all the stress that the organization was putting on her. Needless to say, the fight didn't turn out too well, and they still were on bad speaking terms. Now that she had lost her phone, she couldn't respond to any call that the Apostles of the Stars might have given. And Shiki would just _love _to rankle her about that…

A sudden tap sounded throughout the room as the teacher, Mr. Goda, rapped a ruler on his desk in order to call the class to attention.

"Girls, girls! Settle down now and be quiet! Today we'll be going over the symbolism represented in some of the world's most famous works of classical literature…"

Kyoko had slumped forward on her desk, propping her head up in one hand while she stared at the teacher with an apathetic gaze. It had languidly come to her attention that Mr. Goda's lectures were rather pointless and boring.

In retrospect, the seventeen-year-old led a very exciting life. It was full of action, adventure, and danger…yet now here she was in a stuffy old classroom learning about Kami-knows-what that would probably never affect her in any which way, shape, or form. When your life is centered on escaping authority, recruiting gang members, and honing your ultimate Tao power (a.k.a. spewing fire) then you had to admit that matters such the elements of literature were rather…dull.

The female pyromaniac felt her tired eyes slowly slide shut. The simple drone of the teacher's voice just seemed to put her in a stupor…

"Miss Kirisaki! Please answer the question!"

Kyoko lethargically opened one eye. "Hm?"

Mr. Goda sighed and rubbed his temples. He repeated the question.

"What do you think the love between two star-crossed lovers represents, such as Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet?"

"…love."

The literary teacher stared at her blankly. "And…?"

Kyoko shrugged nonchalantly. "And…lust?"

Mr. Goda pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger and sighed. Apparently, that was all he was going to get out of her today. He called on someone else.

Seeing that the teacher's attention was diverted elsewhere, Kyoko closed her open eye and opted to switch arms so that the sunlight from the window was shining directly onto her face. The sun's warm rays made her skin hotter, but seeing as fire was her specialty, the teenager didn't mind.

In actuality, Kyoko was an exceptionally bright student and could've easily come up with an intelligent response. But, as strenuous as her day was going, Kyoko really wasn't in the mood to deploy her bright intellect. No, today was a day to be lazy and carefree.

And speaking of carefree…did Charden ever have aggravating, pull-your-hair-out days like this?

The heat-controller opened her eyes once more to gaze at the chalkboard, but not really seeing it.

She and Charden have been partners now for a long time…and she had to admit, she had grown fond of the blood-manipulator. There was just something about his sophisticated and calm manner that she found attractive. She felt that she could communicate with him on an equal level and that they understood each other better than the other members of the Apostles of the Stars did.

In fact, she was comfortable around him to the point where she would entrust him with her life. Although their Tao powers couldn't be anymore different, they worked well together. Kyoko didn't view Charden's power as sick or disgusting…in fact, she thought it was fascinating. He could control his own life force to attack in order to protect it…funny, isn't it?

Blood is such a misinterpreted term. It is the lifeline of all living organisms and it is what keeps them going. People often take the effect of their blood for granted, for they live day to day without so much as a thought to the red liquid that allowed them the gift of life. However, blood is always referred to dark and terrible thoughts. Blood is the essence of life, but it is almost always used to define death. Blood is not supposed to be seen; people are afraid of the very sight of it. Blood is contradicting to people's views.

That could be why Charden's power appears to be so menacing…it was simply unnatural for one's blood to be visible at any common occurrence, and especially unnatural when that one could control his blood with a given will.

In a way, blood represented Charden perfectly…hidden, powerful, and always impacting.

Charden himself could be described as quiet and mysterious…and Kyoko was curious as to what mysteries he kept hidden. There was always something so…oh what was the word…intricate…that was hidden behind his dark glasses. His glasses hid Charden's true perceptions of the world, keeping his soul a secret. There were so many things that nobody knew…at least, this is what Kyoko perceived when she first really studied Charden's character.

And what was with the 24" top hat? Did Charden just like the fashion statement, or was he trying to represent a principle that nobody ever knew of?

Kyoko's mind whirled with questions and suspicions as to why Charden came to be the unique person that he is now. Who was the real person that was hidden under that black top hat?

The bored teenager let a soft chuckle escape from her throat. It was so ironic that Charden represented a whole mass of symbolism in reference to Kyoko's thoughts and feelings.

And yes, the older Tao user had often been on her mind lately. Call it her whimsical teenage-girl fantasy, but Kyoko admitted to herself that her feelings for her partner were starting to grow…and she had no idea what to do about it.

Being a teenager was hard enough, but throw in an organization with intent to sustain the battle between good and evil, _and_ a hopeless crush…Kyoko was at her wits end.

The Tao user of heat heaved another sigh and turned her head to stare aimlessly out the window. A tiny, but bright glint caught her eye and drew her gaze towards a dark-clothed figure standing just within the confines of the school border. The flash she had seen was the reflection of sunlight off of his dark glasses.

Kyoko's eyes widened and a small grin crept onto her features as she recognized her beloved partner, who apparently was waiting for her to notice him. Charden stood patient and still, a polite smile on his face while he pointedly stared at the seventeen year-old.

"The good elements of literature coincide with the theme in which- Miss Kirisaki, where do you think you're going!?"

Kyoko had grabbed her bag and was weaving through desks in her attempt to get to the door on the other side of the room. Her usual, bubbly personality had returned and a dazzling smile lit up her face.

"Sorry Mr. Goda, I just remembered that I left the toaster on when I left this morning!"

"But…" She was already out the door and gone.

Sprinting down the hallways and to the front doors, Kyoko felt the elation spread through her chest. Any amount of time with him would raise her spirits any day.

And that's why she dealt with hectic days like these.


End file.
